A/N: I heard you guys like quick updates, so I put a quick update along with your quick update. For real tho, this story is keeping me sane while I'm mired in novel revisions so, uh, it accumulates quickly. Can't promise they're going to stay this ridiculously quick, but I'm super excited about this set of chapters in particular and I guess it's showing! Enjoy!

It didn't take too long for the two of them to lapse into silence. It was a comfortable silence, sure, but silence all the same. They'd already discussed the important things - she'd bestowed her advice, she went on to reassure him that Elizabeth was just fine, and she gave him a brief rundown of what exactly it was that she'd been doing since they'd last seen one another, including a recount of the story of how his dad had helped her break out of the brig.

"He was unbearable when you left, you know," Will said after a few minutes in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Who?"

"Commodore Norrington," Will said ruefully "He never liked me much to begin with so I hardly noticed a difference, but everybody else certainly did. None of his men were pleased when called upon to help plan the pursuit. In fact, they all appeared rather pale."

Theo offered a tired smile "I must look terrible if you're trying to comfort me."

Apparently no sleep, food, water, or safety didn't agree with her.

"The ladies who didn't want to lay the blame for his bad mood down to your disappearance blamed Sparrow's escape - but he seemed fine enough when he left Fort Charles that day. In fact, he was rather eager to return to his home. The ones unable to see that were the ones who were hoping that with Elizabeth engaged, and you gone, the way might be paved to his hand."

"And you're well versed on the machinations of the ladies of Port Royal, are you?"

"I may be parroting Elizabeth," he admitted with a shrug "But she knows these matters better than I, so it should only reassure you as to the accuracy of what I'm telling you."

"Well…we've already made up, so these revelations have all come a bit late. But they do still warm the heart to hear," they also made her feel pretty bloody guilty, but she kept that to herself.

It had been for the best. There was no changing that, and if she had to do it again she would in a heartbeat. She just didn't enjoy it much.

"Now that I've eased your worries regarding your…loved one," he said "Perhaps you might afford me the same courtesy."

"I've told you, Elizabeth's fine."

"But will she be? Will we ever be settled? Married?"

Theo sighed, closing her eyes. No such thing as a selfless act, indeed.

"Clever. Giving me info so I'll owe you the same. You've got a real Jack streak in you, you know that?"

"Given what he's put us all through, I don't take that as a compliment," Will answered.

"Given what he's put us all through, I don't mean it as one," she countered childishly.

"Miss Byrne. I don't ask for details - nor a map of how everything is to unfold. Only reassurance," he entreated "Now, with my duty to my father, the way ahead seems muddied. You would ask for the same, were you in my position."

Her eyes remained shut, if only to avoid the famed puppy dog eyes she could feel him glueing to the side of her face.

"Have it then," she said finally "Your reassurance. The two of you belong together. That won't change just because she's now not the sole thing you hold important in this world. That's all I can say."

And even then, she felt like she was lying to him. They would be married, she could tell him that, but she knew saying it would produce pictures of domestic bliss in his mind - their raising children together, having Bootstrap and the governor round for Sunday dinner, the works. The reality wouldn't quite live up to it. Thankfully, though, she was saved from any further discussion when his head turned and he stared at something just past her head.

"Land. Is that it? Is that the island?"

Bracing herself for what was to come, she turned her head and followed his line of sight. One island looked like any other to her, but it fit the bill based on what she remembered of what was to come - the wide, spanning beaches, the vivid green forests.

"I…I think so. I'm guessing so. Do you see the Pearl anywhere?"

"No," Will frowned after an inspection of the horizon "But we don't have the best vantage point here."

Leaning out from their hiding place just slightly, Theo peered down at the water. It wasn't exactly inviting, not with how she was feeling. What were they even supposed to do? Jump in and hope the crew didn't hear the splash? She couldn't remember this part of the movie at all - was it even shown? Or did Will just materialise on the island and it was left up to the viewers to guess how he slipped away from the ship?

Cries began to sound on the ship - cries of one word, over and over.

"What are they saying?" She asked "Damn?"

Will frowned, shaking his head just slightly, eyes downcast as he listened intently and then realisation struck him and his eyes widened "Down. They're saying down."

If he hadn't realised it then, they would have in the next moment anyway - because the water below was rushing up to meet them, the Dutchman sinking downwards, leaving her with the sensation of being trapped in a lift.

"We need to move now - if we leave it too long, they'll see us as they descend. If we go now, we can be out of sight by the time the water clears," Will urged.

Theo watched the water rise, her own trepidation rising just as steadily, a thousand thoughts flitting through her mind in a single moment. Her gaze flitted from the island, to the water as it drew near, and then back to the island again. It was a fair distance. In her best shape, it would almost be a challenge. But in her best shape, the azure water would be tempting. Now? Now it had her heart rising along with that very water until it was lodged firmly in her throat. Now she wasn't sure she'd be able to manage it. She opened her mouth to voice that fear to Will, but then thought better of it and pressed her lips together once more. What was the point? What would it help? She didn't have a choice. It was stay here and drown at best, or be recaptured by Jones at worst…or try to swim away. So swimming it was. No use in crying over it.

Taking a couple of deep, steeling breaths in, she waited until the water began to seep into her breeches, and then she flung herself out after Will. The water was cold, but bracingly so - shocking her back into her senses and waking her up from the foggy haze she'd been mired in. There was no time to stop and take stock of where the ship was, nor to gain her bearings, the moment she was out she was kicking for land - her heart pounding in her chest all the while thanks to fatigue and the fear that at any moment, Jones' tentacled hand would shoot out and grab for her ankle.

The first few kicks worked the stiffness out of her muscles, the next few had her finding her stride. After that, though? After that it was sheer hell. The adrenaline did what it could, but she'd been mired in adrenaline for the better part of the last twenty-four hours, she didn't have a whole lot of it left. Soon it became less about reaching shore, and just forcing herself to make the next kick, one after the other. Thankfully, no hands - clawed, tentacled, or otherwise - shot out to grab at her, and nor did her strength fail her. By the time she stumbled ashore, her limbs shook and her lungs burned, but none of it mattered because she had reached the shore.

It was as they staggered, one after the other, onto the beach, dripping sea water as they went, that voices drifted towards them. Two were familiar, one was unmistakable. The words themselves she could hardly make out - not over the pounding of her heart that felt like it was filling up her entire skull, threatening to crack it with the force of its beats. The voices, though, were clear as day and they spurred her on.

Will's voice joined the fray the second they'd cleared the hill, and when Theo caught up to him she saw Elizabeth rushing toward her fiance. She was too busy looking to James to pay much mind to the happy reunion, though.

Theo had missed people before. Or she thought she had. Her dad was always off being stationed somewhere or another - and, at one point, doing time. The same could be said for all of her 'uncles' on both counts, because military men adapted surprisingly well to crime. On a non-family level, during the period from when she was eighteen to just before she'd found herself in these parts, there was always somebody going off to or coming back from uni, too. Partings and reunions were hardly uncommon, especially not when her own wanderlust struck and she went off travelling. She'd even attempted a long distance relationship or two - albeit only for a few weeks at a time, and she'd never exactly pined for any of those lads then, when studying or work opportunities dragged one of them here and there all over Ireland, or even off abroad.

Sure, she wasn't heartless, she'd enjoyed their phone calls, but…that was it. And Theo had never complained about their absence - partially because she hardly curbed her own desire to pick up and go somewhere just to spend a few extra days with a guy, and also because she was usually secretly glad to have the time to herself. The peace, as she viewed it. None of that was ringing true at all now. Had life been slightly more normal, had she been able to travel for something that wasn't a life-or-death mission with terrifying consequences, she'd have probably only done so if James would join her. That in itself was foreign to her.

No, the point was that all of that, all of the lengthy separations, all of the times she'd been happy to see people again…it all paled in comparison to how she felt upon seeing James standing on that beach. After barely one day, no less. Even if it was a very shitty day and a separation that was a bit more dramatic than a wave and a hop on a train. Still, she wasn't at all prepared for the relief that crashed over her, so strong that it almost had her sobbing, as he closed the gap between them with surprising speed and enveloped her in his arms. It was only then that she realised how ragged her breathing was, amplified as it was when her face was pressed into his coat.

"Thank God," he breathed into her hair as she clung to him.

She couldn't respond - not amidst her desperate efforts to pull herself together. What she could do, however, was kiss him…even if doing so meant she had to keep hold of his jacket so she didn't topple. The way he kissed her back, his lips slotting over hers, told her that the feeling - every single one raging within her towards him - was mutual, and that threatened to overwhelm her even more. The way he touched her and held her steady was so damn reverent, despite all of the complications their relationship was loaded with, despite the fact that she knew she looked a bloody state, despite the fact that they had an audience. It blew her away, and she never wanted him to let go of her - and that blew her away even more, because surely that wasn't normal? Surely to feel such comfort, such relief, such total contentment - the sort usually only offered by a hit of very illegal drugs to a very hooked individual - in the arms of another wasn't right? Wasn't natural? But she didn't care so long as he didn't let go, audience be damned. It was that audience, though, that she thought he had in mind as he took but the barest step to the right until his back was to the rest gathered.

Pulling away, he kept close, and then he murmured in her ear in a way that to anybody else might've looked like he was whispering words of comfort.

"If I make a play for the heart, I'll succeed, yes? That's what I would have done? If you weren't here, I'd find a way?"

It took a moment for her to comprehend the question, and another for her to nod. Theo felt the sigh of relief he gave, his chest lowering beneath her hands. He made a show of taking stock of the shape she was in - and paused in the charade to regard her neck with a furrowed brow, for Jones' claw must've left her with a pretty souvenir - but he continued then with the sort of efficiency that could only be born of urgency, tugging at her coat as if to check for further injuries hiding beneath it…and depositing something into her pocket as he did so. She didn't know what, but she felt the weight tugging down her already sodden clothing.

"Jones' men are coming," she breathed the warning.

"I expected so. Can you run?"

Her limbs were slowly ceasing their trembling, and they throbbed now rather than just being numb - surely that was a sign of the affirmative?

"I think so," she murmured "If I have to."

"You do have to," he spoke lowly, breath tickling her ear and the side of her neck.

"But James-"

"No," he interrupted, and then quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek to try to cover for how sternly the word had come out - whether to her or to those potentially watching, she didn't know "No. I've tried my best to do things your way, and I cannot repeat how it ended. I cannot, Theodora - I will not. But I also cannot act as I must - fight as I must - if I'm preoccupied with keeping you safe. You're in no state to hold your own. You must trust me with this. Run inland when I draw my sword, then keep running, hide, keep yourself safe by any means necessary. I will find you after. On the eastern shore, once the danger has passed. Yes?"

Theo sighed. There was much to say, much to discuss, much to weigh up, and time for absolutely none of it.

"Please," he pressed another kiss to her cheek - but this one lingered unlike the last, and she had trouble not leaning into it "Trust me."

Finally she nodded.

"Calm yourself down, Commodore, or she won't be a maiden for your wedding night," Jack called.

Theo turned her attention to him, and then he had two angry women bearing down on him instead of just the one, for Elizabeth hadn't taken particularly kindly to his betrayal of Will.

"Dora!" He greeted as if he'd had nothing to do with her absence "Was it sea turtles for you, too, love?"

"Magic," she replied flatly, finding her voice along with her breath.

She strode towards him on legs that she still did not quite trust, and he extended his arms as though expecting a hug. What he got instead was a right hook to the face - right in the cheekbone, below his left eye. She didn't feel the bone give way beneath her fist, and she chalked that up to her own poor condition, but it remained satisfying all the same. Grunting, he managed not to double over, but did cradle his face.

"Is that us even, then?" His question was only slightly muffled by his hand.

"Even," she echoed with a great lack of enthusiasm "It's good to see you, Jack."

He didn't seem to believe her, oddly enough. And then Will was kneeling before the chest, and she was making the most of the seconds she had before she knew she'd be sprinting for the trees. She'd told James she could run, and Christ she hoped it was true. His eyes flickered to her, bright green in the scorching day beneath his furrowed brow, and then his fingers twitched towards his sword when Jack drew his own on Will as he bore down on the chest with the key in one hand and his father's knife in the other. Theo responded by taking a few slow steps backward - only a handful, towards the treeline, while everybody was nice and distracted. James nodded in response.

"I can't let you do that, William," Jack said "If Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?"

Will glared at him, and Theo took another slow step backwards.

"Now if you please," Jack motioned with his sword for him to stand, extending his free hand for the key.

With the utmost begrudgement, Will began to slowly turn…and then drew Elizabeth's sword from its scabbard, stepping between her and Jack.

"I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father. I have good reason to think I'll succeed," his eyes flickered to Theodora as he said that, who couldn't quite meet his gaze.

"Why? Because she confirmed it? Doesn't sound like her. Or perhaps because she didn't say anything to the contrary? Her silence doesn't always mean something good's on the way, lad," Jack needled.

Will remained unperturbed, seeing the attempted mind games for what they were "I hope you're here to see it."

But now James drew his sword, levelling it towards Will "I can't let you do that, either. So sorry."

"I knew you'd warm up to me," Jack grinned.

Jack fell silent once the point of James' sword was directed squarely at his face.

"Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it, I get amnesty for my betrothed and I," James said.

"And how does said betrothed feel about that, eh?" Jack challenged.

All eyes turned to Theo - most of them heavy with expectance. She bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from speaking…and took another slow step back. James looked reassured by this, his shoulders loosening just slightly as he turned his attention back to his opponents. He was the only one who was pleased by her move, though, with Jack's eyes widening in outrage (which she took to only be half-sincere, given that he had a bloody cheek otherwise), while Elizabeth and Will just appeared…disappointed. Somehow that was even worse than anger. Will's was resigned, a grim set settling itself in his jaw, almost like he'd expected this sooner or later. Why did that feel so much worse than the disbelief on Elizabeth's face?

"Theo? Theo, surely not - tell him!" She cried.

Theo hesitated. And then she said nothing.

"Theodora - go!" James ground out at a shout - and there was no room to argue, for then he was swinging his sword.

True to her word, Theo turned and began to run inland.

"Theo! Theodora!" Elizabeth called after her.

But she wouldn't give chase, Theo knew that, not so soon after being reunited with Will. She loathed to run from James as it was, the irrational part of her brain screaming that this was the beginning of yet another long separation. But it wasn't. It would be fine. He would find her. He'd been right, too, there was no way of her being involved in the ridiculous threeway fight that was about to ensue that couldn't very well get somebody killed. Even moreso when Jones' lackeys showed up, because fuck knew they'd probably love a chance to be able to drag her before their captain - a chance to truly get in his good books. Perhaps a consolation prize for when he realised the heart was missing. She very much didn't feel like being his punching bag for the time that followed that revelation.

Theo sprinted inland, the same logic that had pushed her on with her swimming now applying to running. It was more difficult here, though, what with the perilous, unsteady sandy footing. But she pushed on, shrugging off her coat and bundling it in her arms so the sweat quickly building across her body had a chance to cool and not make her pass the fuck out. It was easier once the terrain turned to grass and lush emerald green foliage, but by the time she reached the ruins of the church that would soon serve as a stage for more of their fighting, her head was already beginning to swim. She wasn't covering enough ground, not fast enough. Not compared to the full pelt that Jones' crew would soon be spreading across the island in.

Her pace faltered and almost slowed, but she caught that and pushed through it, through the panic, through the fear. If running would keep her out of that dank, disgusting brig, she'd do sprints around this entire island until her heart gave out. It didn't seem like the best game-plan, though. Could she climb the trees? No, they didn't boast enough branches to offer any kind of coverage, and the trunks were much too thin. They might not break, but they'd certainly bend and give her away easily. She continued on - and it might've been easier if not for the way she awkwardly held her coat, and how the contents of the pocket kept banging into her thighs as she moved. Swearing, she fumbled for the pocket and tried to not let it slow her down (failing miserably and almost eating dirt for her efforts), but she finally managed to pry out whatever it was James had slipped into her pocket.

Her heart seized in her chest when she finally made sense of what her hand withdrew, her grip awkward around the two objects. That stupid, foolish, stubborn, utterly sweet man. A chunk of hard tack - his rations from that morning, she guessed - and his flask. He knew she'd need to eat when he next saw her, and he'd saved them for her.

A/N: I know it seems like I've reverted to following the movies again now, but, uh…you'll see. Patience, trust, all that.